Bryson DeChambeau has been the best player in golf for a month.
The two-time major winner could not have had a better run-in to The Masters, having won his last two events on LIV Golf in Singapore and South Africa. And after coming so close last year, he’s one of the favorites to win The Masters in 2026.
DeChambeau was a Sunday leader at The Masters last year, but shot a final round 75 to fall out of contention. His inability to hit iron shots on the final day cost him a chance of beating Rory McIlroy.
But analyst Smylie Kaufman noticed something about DeChambeau last year that makes him think he can go all the way and claim his first Green Jacket this time around.
Smylie Kaufman says Bryson DeChambeau’s play around the greens means he can win The Masters
DeChambeau’s iron play has been so inconsistent over the years at Augusta that some have ruled him out completely. But his play around the green was elite last year, which is why Kaufman still believes he can win it all.
Speaking on the Smylie Show, he said, “He’s had decent iron years in the past year. Last year, it just was not good. Now, if that’s something that he has fixed and he feels like he can hit his numbers better, I’ve seen him be able to do it. I saw him doing it at Pinehurst. I’m not necessarily quite as concerned about that.
“But the one thing to me that that if you’re looking at a positive deal for Bryson DeChambeau heading into this year is how well he pitched the ball last year. That was one of the main reasons he was in contention: how well he pitched it.
“And I think everybody will always look back at the quote that he had about just Augusta National and how it should be a par 68 for him because of his length. And I think over the years, he’s matured and realized what this course really is.
“Yes, you can bomb it off the tee, but it’s so much more than that. It requires strategy, precision, and be able to hit golf balls into very small sections of the green, knowing where to miss it, when to take your chances, when to just say par is a good score.
“And I think when you look back at the five years prior to last year where he had a decent shot obviously heading into Sunday playing with Rory McIlroy in that final group, he had lost a considerable amount of strokes around the greens five years in a row. Never even was close to being just average around the Greens.
“So when you see that he had a such a positive jump to not only just being just average but one of the best in the field last year pitching, you start to think it’s like, all right if he has a good iron week and he’s able just to learn his lessons about where to miss it around Augusta National and know where to get up and down from.
“To me, Bryson DeChambeau quickly becomes one of the favorites this week because of his ability to mature and know where to miss it and know how to get up and down out.”
Bryson DeChambeau’s chipping stats at Augusta National
Miraculously, DeChambeau held the lead on Sunday despite playing incredibly poorly with his irons during the tournament. He lost 0.69 strokes to the field on approach across the tournament, which should have left him well out of contention.
But around the greens, the American gained 1.75 strokes to the field, leading every player at Augusta National. His magic ran out on Sunday, but he showed that even if he doesn’t have his irons locked in, he can still find a way to make pars consistently.
That was never the case at The Masters before last season. DeChambeau lost strokes at every single Masters he has played before 2025, and missed the cut twice because of it.
His iron play has been up and down on LIV Golf this season. But if he misses greens this year at Augusta, DeChambeau knows he can reach into his bag of tricks.
